Program in Survey Methodology News

Fall 2009

The Michigan Program in Survey Methodology (MPSM) welcomes Dr. Philip Brenner as a post-doctoral scholar. He will work with the faculty of the MSPM to train Masters level students in the fundamental principles of survey methodology and the practical aspects of the survey process. Dr. Brenner earned his Ph.D. in 2009 in Sociology, with an interdisciplinary minor in Religion, Politics, and Society, from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His dissertation was entitled "Overreporting of Socially Desirable Behavior in Surveys." He completed his Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, and his Master's degree from the University of Chicago.

The Michigan Program in Survey Methodology (MPSM) welcomes 12 new Masters degree students and four new doctoral students. Joining the MS program are Chris Antoun, Emily Blasczyk, Kelly Burmeister, Boyang Chai, Nuttirudee Charuoenruk, Ben Duffey, Veysel Elgin, Hyun Jung Lee, Nicole Kirgis, Mario Strauss, Dave Vannette, and Zaoli Zhang. Entering the Ph.D. program are Mahmoud Elkasabi, Julia Lee, Chang Zhang, and Hanzhi Zhou.

Steve Heeringa is the principal investigator from The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR), one of a consortium of four research institutions, selected to carry out the largest study to date of suicide and mental health among military personnel. With $50 million in funding from the U.S. Army, the new study is a collaborative program of research that will also involve scientists from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the U.S. Army. More information

Robert Groves was confirmed as the U.S. Census Bureau chief in July 2009. More information

Mike Elliot and Trivellore Raghunathan received funding from the National Institutes of Health for their project entitled "Hierarchical Bayesian Analysis of Complex Sample Survey Data."

Mike Elliot was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health for "Methods of Studying Variability as a Predictor of Health Status."

Mike Elliot gave a presentation at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Washington, D.C., entitled "Accounting for Complex Sample Designs via Finite Normal Mixture Models."

The Survey Methodology Program recently welcomed Dr. Sun-Woong Kim as a visiting scholar. During his year-long stay, Dr. Kim will collaborate with Steve Heeringa in the area of model-based sampling and sample allocations.